FT-IR and HPLC analysis of silver fir ( Mill.) bark compounds from different geographical provenances.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) could be applied to study the provenance of wood, specifically the differentiation of wood resources, as well as the identification of chemical compounds that are connected to the changes that occur in wood as a result of drying treatments. To test this hypothesis, the bark of silver fir ( Mill.) from trees belonging to seven different geographical provenances was studied, using samples dried at three different temperatures (60, 80, and 100 °C).

Responses of different invasive and non-invasive ornamental plants to water stress during seed germination and vegetative growth.

Biological invasions represent a major threat to natural ecosystems. A primary source of invasive plants is ornamental horticulture, which selects traits related to invasiveness. This study evaluated the responses to water stress during germination and vegetative growth of six species used as ornamental or medicinal plants.

Evaluation of Drought Responses in Two Species Used in Landscaping through Morphological and Biochemical Markers.

One of the most important challenges horticultural crops confront is drought, particularly in regions such as the Mediterranean basin, where water supplies are usually limited and will become even scarcer due to global warming. Therefore, the selection and diversification of stress-tolerant cultivars are becoming priorities of contemporary ornamental horticulture. This study explored the impact of water stress on two species frequently used in landscaping.

Comparative Analysis of Phenotypic and Molecular Data on Response to Main Pear Diseases and Pest Attack in a Germplasm Collection.

The pear is an important fruit tree in temperate areas, but due to its sensitivity, fruit yield and quality are often affected by disease and pest attacks. Pear genotypes from a germplasm collection comprising 13 species, 17 Romanian varieties, and 50 non-Romanian varieties from a worldwide assortment were investigated in this study. Throughout four years, response to attack of the principal pathogens and pests was investigated phenotypically under natural conditions of infection and infestation.

Effect of Water Deficit on Germination, Growth and Biochemical Responses of Four Potentially Invasive Ornamental Grass Species.

Ornamental plant species introduced into new environments can exhibit an invasive potential and adaptability to abiotic stress factors. In this study, the drought stress responses of four potentially invasive ornamental grass species (, , and ) were analysed. Several seed germination parameters were determined under increasing polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) concentrations.

Quantitative Traits of Interest in Apple Breeding and Their Implications for Selection.

Apple breeding is a laborious and long-lasting process that requires qualified resources, land, time, and funds. In this study, more than 5000 F apple hybrids from direct and testcrosses were analyzed. The results revealed how the phenotypic expression of the main quantitative traits of interest assessed in five half-sib families was controlled by the additive genetic effects and by non-additive effects of dominance and epistasis.

Clonal Propagation of Walnuts ( spp.): A Review on Evolution from Traditional Techniques to Application of Biotechnology.

Walnuts ( sp.) are allogamous species. Seed-derived plants are not always superior to the selected parent.

Comparative Analysis of Tolerance to Salt Stress and Water Deficit in Two Invasive Weeds of the Genus (Asteraceae).

and are two noxious weeds present in many parts of the world. Their tolerance to salinity and water deficit was analysed at the seed germination stage and during vegetative development. Seed germination was tested in solutions with different concentrations of NaCl and polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Fertilization Influence Yield, Growth and Root Colonization of Different Tomato Genotype.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial for plant development and help absorb water and minerals from the soil. The symbiosis between these fungi and plant roots is extremely important and could limit crop dependence on fertilizers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of AMF on tomatoes ( L.

Biological Traits and Genetic Relationships Amongst Cultivars of Three Species of (Asteraceae).

Marigolds ( spp.) are multifunctional flowering plants belonging to the Asteraceae family, well-known and widespread for their ornamental value and many other uses. In this study, morphological differences and genetic relationships among 21 cultivars of three species of marigold (, and ) were analysed.

Physico-Chemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Evaluation of Two New Commercial Tomato Hybrids and Their Parental Lines.

Tomato () is the globally most consumed vegetable. The objective of this research was to analyze physico-chemical, nutritional and sensorial components (taste and flavor) in two new commercial hybrids (AS 300 F1 and AS 400 F1) and their four F7 parental lines. Two widely grown F1 hybrids (Precos F1 and Addalyn F1) were used as controls.

Advances in Rootstock Breeding of Nut Trees: Objectives and Strategies.

The production and consumption of nuts are increasing in the world due to strong economic returns and the nutritional value of their products. With the increasing role and importance given to nuts (i.e.

Responses to Salt Stress in : Insight into Its Tolerance Mechanisms.

Climate change and its detrimental effects on agricultural production, freshwater availability and biodiversity accentuated the need for more stress-tolerant varieties of crops. This requires unraveling the underlying pathways that convey tolerance to abiotic stress in wild relatives of food crops, industrial crops and ornamentals, whose tolerance was not eroded by crop cycles. In this work we try to demonstrate the feasibility of such strategy applying and investigating the effects of saline stress in different species and cultivars of .

Screening for drought tolerance in cultivars of the ornamental genus Tagetes (Asteraceae).

Drought tolerance was evaluated in twelve cultivars of three ornamental Tagetes species (T. patula, T. tenuifolia and T.

Identification of Salt Stress Biomarkers in Romanian Carpathian Populations of Picea abies (L.) Karst.

The Norway spruce (Picea abies), the most important tree species in European forests, is relatively sensitive to salt and does not grow in natural saline environments. Yet many trees are actually exposed to salt stress due to the common practice of de-icing of mountain roads in winter, using large amounts of NaCl. To help develop strategies for an appropriate use of reproductive seed material on reforestation sites, ensuring better chances of seedling survival in salt-affected areas, we have studied the responses of young spruce seedlings to salt treatments.

Modeling the antioxidant capacity of red wine from different production years and sources under censoring.

The health benefit of drinking wine, expressed as capacity to defend the human organism from the free radicals action and thus reducing the oxidative stress, has already been demonstrated, and the results had been published in scientific literature. The aim of our study was to develop and assess a model able to estimate the antioxidant capacity (AC) of several samples of Romanian wines and to evaluate the AC dependency on the vintage (defined as the year in which wine was produced) and grape variety under presence of censored data. A contingency of two grape varieties from two different vineyards in Romania and five production years, with some missing experimental data, was used to conduct the analysis.

Poisson parameters of antimicrobial activity: a quantitative structure-activity approach.

A contingency of observed antimicrobial activities measured for several compounds vs. a series of bacteria was analyzed. A factor analysis revealed the existence of a certain probability distribution function of the antimicrobial activity.

A study of genetic algorithm evolution on the lipophilicity of polychlorinated biphenyls.

The search for multivariate linear regression (MLR) in quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) is a hard problem, due to the dimension of the entire search space. A genetic algorithm (GA) was developed and assessed, to select proper descriptors for predicting the octan-1-ol/H2O partition coefficient of polychlorinated biphenyls. The GA was implemented as a Windows based FreePascal application with MySQL connectivity for fetching the data.

Meta-heuristics on quantitative structure-activity relationships: study on polychlorinated biphenyls.

A genetic algorithm was developed and assessed in order to select pairs of proper structural descriptors able to estimate and predict octanol-water partition coefficients of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The molecular descriptors family was calculated for a sample of 206 PCBs. The problem of searching for the proper descriptors in order to identify structure-activity relationships was translated in genetic terms.